NVIDIA's SLI Mainstream?

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FrgMstr

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Does NVIDIA's latest ForceWare driver update show that SLI is truly coming of age? We take a real-world look at just what SLI is capable of now days.

Read it here.

Please leave your thoughts below.
 
IMO: Mainstream among enthusiasts. In my judgment, SLI has passed in level from about water cooling, a largely boutique product, to the level of high powered after market air-coolers. It's still not at the simplcity level of retail coolers for a mass market audience. The power supply requirements in particular are still a large obctacle in my mind. Also, many gamers out there don't want to have to wait for profiles for new games or go to the trouble of making their own profiles.

With that said, I agree with Kyle that SLI has been much improved. NV has made huge strides in removing the "gotchas" from SLI deployment, and most of the remaining obstacles can be planned around, a definite improvement.
 
I think you really missed the point. SLI can be put into function with a huge assortment of video cards, many of which don't really need specialized PSUs or even extra power connectors. Surely, $1000 video card pairs are likely going to stay in the realm of the enthusiast.
 
I think this will become a KEY factor in marketing in the future. Think about it companies boasting DUAL VIDEOCARDS!!! for an ultimate gaming experience! and it will snowball from there.
 
I dunno. Maybe it's all my battles with RAID that have hardened me against SLI. I am just not a big fan of added driver complexity, especially when selling your 6600GT and buying a 6800GT/7800GT accomplishes the same if not better results as SLI'ing 6600GTs.

Once again, I am glad to see that SLI now "just works" for the most part. However, it has some weaknesses that will always be significant in my mind. These weaknesses no longer affect the functionality of SLI, merely its elegance. Then again, I'm an enthusiast who buys video cards based on what's the best card I can get that doesn't need an external power connector. On AGP, that was a 9600XT, and on PCI Express, that was an X800XL. That's my 2 cents.
 
videogamer323 said:
I think this will become a KEY factor in marketing in the future. Think about it companies boasting DUAL VIDEOCARDS!!! for an ultimate gaming experience! and it will snowball from there.
Click to expand...


Nail on the head..... In truth this is already being sold, but it is only at the very high end. Now that implementation has just gotten much more transparent, we will see more of what you are mentioning above.
 
Your article was very timely for me Kyle because I finally went SLI myself yesterday.

My experiences were similar to yours in that it was a painless, fairly easy and straightforward process. In fact, it had me thinking the same thing when I was clicking on the Enable SLI checkbox on my first reboot, "this is easy enough for the mainstream".

While I agree that power supply connection issues will seem daunting to some of the mainstreamers, everything else about the process has become pretty painless.

And I _totally_ agree with your statement about SLI just getting the testosterone going.
 
Suprised you didn't mention any vsync issues with AFR rendering mode in SLI. Is this fixed in 81.85 or what? Are you seeing any other graphical problems in SLI not evident in a single card?
 
Ive had SLI since the 7800 GTX was released, and the A8N SLI Deluxe board from its release, just as you said, in anticipation. Ive found SLI to be very easy to use. Ive used the global driver profile for all my games that didnt have a profile; and had no problems. I just drool over the graphics in my games. I cant think of having any more fun and enjoyment. Sli has been very easy for me to use and all done with air stock cooling. :D
 
Glad to hear SLI has become so easy to use.

I don't think that changes the economic realities of SLI... which is that it doesn't really make sense to get two lower end cards when one higher end card will beat them for less money. And, for the upgrade option, one next gen card usually beats two of the previous gen cards. I noticed you didn't go with another 6800 GT... that wouldn't have made economic sense. Instead, you went with two GTX's. SLI still seems to be for those that must have the best performance, cost be damned.
 
101 said:
Suprised you didn't mention any vsync issues with AFR rendering mode in SLI. Is this fixed in 81.85 or what? Are you seeing any other graphical problems in SLI not evident in a single card?
Click to expand...


I am not seeing any VSynce issues and they are all reportedly fixed. I have had NO problems with graphics at all, but then again I have not played a ton of games, so I thought it was better not to mention.
 
Jonsey said:
Glad to hear SLI has become so easy to use.

I don't think that changes the economic realities of SLI... which is that it doesn't really make sense to get two lower end cards when one higher end card will beat them for less money. And, for the upgrade option, one next gen card usually beats two of the previous gen cards. I noticed you didn't go with another 6800 GT... that wouldn't have made economic sense. Instead, you went with two GTX's. SLI still seems to be for those that must have the best performance, cost be damned.
Click to expand...


Actually I paid for none of my cards, so cost was not an issue, I wanted the peroformance. (Well actually I did buy the EVGA card...)

The point being that your economic reality is that of an enthusiast, and you know these things. Mainstream will be a differenent demographic and market. Back to the whole testosterone dealio. :)
 
[BB] Rick James said:
If your smart with your upgrades, making the upgrade when card prices falls. Purchasing that 2nd SLI card when something new comes out, your money will stretch farther for the performance then what it would in the past. IMO.
Click to expand...


I think you are 100% correct here and if you look at our comments about a year ago, we said the exact same thing then. It was not that you wanted to rush out and buy SLI setups, although many of you did, it was the advantage of getting a 6800 now and another later when it was much cheaper. :)
 
I am glad to get the feedback from you guys that you are seeing the same painless implementation that I saw. Always a little hesitant to publish something like this in that you don't want to come off like an idiot fan boy if a lot of folks are having problems. That said, I could find none, even on the NV-Bash sites.
 
SLi is a good marketing tool in the fps wars but as for the best option for 99.5% of us - I doubt it. It only makes sense when you require such performance that one of the top of the line video cards is not fast enough. Today that means 2 7800GTX's (maybe GT's).

For the rest of us who don't need a machine quite that quick we are better off to sell our current card and buy the current top end - e.g. sell my 6800GT and buy a 7800GTX. Doing this is much better then buying a second 6800GT because it's simpler, more reliable, lower power, quieter, gets me latest features, and doesn't require a special (more expensive) motherboard.

Sure it's maturing and that's great but I don't think you can seriously recomend it to anyone other then very rich techo geeks.
 
sbuckler said:
SLi is a good marketing tool in the fps wars but as for the best option for 99.5% of us - I doubt it. It only makes sense when you require such performance that one of the top of the line video cards is not fast enough. Today that means 2 7800GTX's (maybe GT's).

For the rest of us who don't need a machine quite that quick we are better off to sell our current card and buy the current top end - e.g. sell my 6800GT and buy a 7800GTX. Doing this is much better then buying a second 6800GT because it's simpler, more reliable, lower power, quieter, gets me latest features, and doesn't require a special (more expensive) motherboard.

Sure it's maturing and that's great but I don't think you can seriously recomend it to anyone other then very rich techo geeks.
Click to expand...

Actually it looks to be a great marketing tool for even those people that have never looked at a frame rate graph much less know what one is. :)

I would also suggest that most mainstream users do not part out their computers to upgrade them, although that is certainly popular among the enthusiast.

And just for the record, I did not seriously recommend it to anyone, simply gave my thoughts on the state of the product. That said, we have never recommended SLI be a starting point for anyone, but rather an upgrade path that they keep open as it may be the totally sensible and economic upgrade for them to make in the future. This has been our stance since day one. :) And that path was not for "rich techno geeks," but rather for all hardware enthusiasts to look at.
 
I'm still annoyed that ATI and NV don't work out some agreement so NV cards can be used on a Crossfire board and ATI cards on an SLI board. It would give people so much more choice when buying new systems. :mad:
 
Sable said:
I'm still annoyed that ATI and NV don't work out some agreement so NV cards can be used on a Crossfire board and ATI cards on an SLI board. It would give people so much more choice when buying new systems. :mad:
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't crossfire kind of pricy? Why even have that as an option? Doesn't the SLI board out perform crossfire?
 
canada needs to start trading more oil overseas in asia for electronics/production facilities. SLi is definately the best choice for any computer gamer... unfortunately the cost for anything graphics related here is still way too much for me to consider, having just grabbed the x800pro at doom time last summer... unless ATi gets competitive with the upgrade path nVidia offers, my next rig will be green.

/bides time in igloo with cs:s
 
The 81.85 driver doesn't like switching to horizontal span mode very well. (previous versions didn't have this hiccup)

It would be very cool if they would allow the horizontal span function to work across both SLI'd cards instead of limiting it to one. Crosshairs split between screens is incredibly annoying. Lets see those crosshairs in the middle of your center screen huh?

If you disable the extra displays everytime before switching to SLI from multi-display it "shouldn't" make you reboot.
On occasion the driver craps out during boot and you have to boot again with multiple displays in place.
7800gt SLI'd cards eat up about 100 extra watts from idle when they are under load.
 
I just upgraded my rig and have a nice empty slot for SLI when the 7800GTX isn't up to the task anymore. Hopefully the card prices will have dropped a lot by then :) If it wasn't for the AGP->PCIe transition I would have gone for buying another 6800GT card and doing SLI with the old one. I think SLI will also be great if we see another 4x00 to 5x00 type stumble in the future.

Can the new SLI drivers handle different memory sizes on the video cards? I think this would be the one combination that could be done that was not covered. I have a feeling if it can be done the extra memory on the other card will be wasted.
 
TroubleMagnet said:
I just upgraded my rig and have a nice empty slot for SLI when the 7800GTX isn't up to the task anymore. Hopefully the card prices will have dropped a lot by then :) If it wasn't for the AGP->PCIe transition I would have gone for buying another 6800GT card and doing SLI with the old one. I think SLI will also be great if we see another 4x00 to 5x00 type stumble in the future.

Can the new SLI drivers handle different memory sizes on the video cards? I think this would be the one combination that could be done that was not covered. I have a feeling if it can be done the extra memory on the other card will be wasted.
Click to expand...

For the person building from scratch and needing a computer, not buying an SLI ready mobo would just be dumb, IMO. Unless he is building a server or something.
 
I was an early adopter when SLI came out and ditched my 9800XT in favor of 2 6800 GTs with an Asus AN8 SLI Deluxe. It was a nightmare out of the gate, the board had like 8 bios releases in the 1st 2 months and I finally ditched it in favor of a DFI SLI-DR.

I have now ditched the SLI setup, I came to the realization that if you don't have a huge LCD monitor or CRT it just isn't worth the money. Running at a max of 1280X1024 on a Sceptre 19" Gamer I just didn't see any real world reason for keeping the setup. I currently use an X850 XT and get better FPS than I did with the 2 6800 GTs in the main game I play--Far Cry. It kicks butt in everything else too.

To me, SLI is great for benching, never did I ever imagine breaking 20,000 in 3dMarks03, but in real live gaming it never showed the promise it did in the benchmarks. I also saw quality issues in many games, and I had to reboot the system every time I started Far Cry (I no longer have to do that with the X850 XT).

Is it ready for mainstream.....Yes it is, because ignorance is bliss for the masses. They will see "Dual Video Cards" and buy, even though they have a 17" LCD that comes with their Dell that will never take advantage of it.

And before I am labeled as an ATI !!!!!!, I am staying away from Crossfire too. I am sticking with my nForce4 board and waiting for the 512MB version of the X1800 XT. I may try a dual GPU on a single card in the future, it does seem promising.
 
jdracer47 said:
I was an early adopter when SLI came out and ditched my 9800XT in favor of 2 6800 GTs with an Asus AN8 SLI Deluxe. It was a nightmare out of the gate, the board had like 8 bios releases in the 1st 2 months and I finally ditched it in favor of a DFI SLI-DR.

I have now ditched the SLI setup, I came to the realization that if you don't have a huge LCD monitor or CRT it just isn't worth the money. Running at a max of 1280X1024 on a Sceptre 19" Gamer I just didn't see any real world reason for keeping the setup. I currently use an X850 XT and get better FPS than I did with the 2 6800 GTs in the main game I play--Far Cry. It kicks butt in everything else too.

To me, SLI is great for benching, never did I ever imagine breaking 20,000 in 3dMarks03, but in real live gaming it never showed the promise it did in the benchmarks. I also saw quality issues in many games, and I had to reboot the system every time I started Far Cry (I no longer have to do that with the X850 XT).

Is it ready for mainstream.....Yes it is, because ignorance is bliss for the masses. They will see "Dual Video Cards" and buy, even though they have a 17" LCD that comes with their Dell that will never take advantage of it.

And before I am labeled as an ATI !!!!!!, I am staying away from Crossfire too. I am sticking with my nForce4 board and waiting for the 512MB version of the X1800 XT. I may try a dual GPU on a single card in the future, it does seem promising.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear your 1st SLI system was a no go. But for me, the numbers speak for themselves. Whether it be in the benchmarks or real life gaming, I've definately seen a difference in performance.
 
[BB] Rick James said:
Sorry to hear your 1st SLI system was a no go. But for me, the numbers speak for themselves. Whether it be in the benchmarks or real life gaming, I've definately seen a difference in performance.
Click to expand...

Those 7800 GTXs might have something to do with that :)

I might go back if I ever plunk down the money for the Dell 24" widescreen. Who knows, I am too addicted to ever stop evolving my system ;)
 
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_600?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Now that you can order a SLI system from Dell, I think that's about as mainstream as you can get.

Double the Graphics, Double the Excitement
Even the most extreme gamers will be in awe of the unrelenting graphics of the XPS 600. The XPS 600 supports two NVIDIA 7800 graphics cards, working simultaneously to create a revolutionary visual experience. This award-winning technology helps make 3D gaming better than ever and can increase graphics performance.
Click to expand...
 
PRIME1 said:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_600?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Now that you can order a SLI system from Dell, I think that's about as mainstream as you can get.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is mainstream.

Whatever happened to SLI needing a heavy duty Processor to avoid a CPU bottleneck? I am just curious since it is pretty much assumed that AMD rules the roost in gaming but there are Intel SLI boards. What is the performance hit in an SLI rig with an Intel CPU, does it bottleneck?

Sorry to get off topic, YES it is mainstream if you can buy it in a Dell.
 
Kyle Bennett's article said:
One issue worth mentioning here is that SLI has had problems with widescreen displays in the past. I don't have any personal experience with this issue, but most of the problems seem to have been ironed out from the research I have done.
Click to expand...

hehe.. yeah, I saw that thread in the displays forum. ;)

Good article! I think it and your summary is right on. Especially the parts about the drivers maturing to be much more flexible / user friendly and the prices on lower end SLi gear suiting the budget minded builders. SLi's appeal is widening to a broader market for sure. I would say it's very close to being main-stream, but it's not quite there... it will be soon... maybe in the spring? a couple quarters off...

Good things!
 
The 81.85 driver is definitely a buggy release. Worked for 2 days on my well worn SLI rig and then started BSOD'ing on me after a few minutes playing BF2. Checked voltages RAM etc. and then removed 81.85 and went back to 78.01. No problems.

That has been the path with SLI. Quick release drivers sometimes do more harm than good. In my experience I'd recommend that if you don't need the latest feature a new driver provides then skip it and wait for the feature to mature. Nvidia has been VERY GOOD about ironing out SLI problems and releasing driver in a timely manner but they have delivered a few buggy ones.
 
Sable said:
I'm still annoyed that ATI and NV don't work out some agreement so NV cards can be used on a Crossfire board and ATI cards on an SLI board. It would give people so much more choice when buying new systems. :mad:
Click to expand...


Yeah, I am still waiting for Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler to make all their parts interchangable too. ;)
 
Merc said:
The 81.85 driver is definitely a buggy release. Worked for 2 days on my well worn SLI rig and then started BSOD'ing on me after a few minutes playing BF2. Checked voltages RAM etc. and then removed 81.85 and went back to 78.01. No problems.

That has been the path with SLI. Quick release drivers sometimes do more harm than good. In my experience I'd recommend that if you don't need the latest feature a new driver provides then skip it and wait for the feature to mature. Nvidia has been VERY GOOD about ironing out SLI problems and releasing driver in a timely manner but they have delivered a few buggy ones.
Click to expand...

Try the 81.87 that were released this morning. I was not having issues like yours, but these seem to be a bit more robust in terms of the dynamic in/out mode.
 
I could (and should) come in here and post a bunch of crap saying how SLI is a waste of money and that any1 who buys it is a fool. With links and copy/pastes and stock reports that somehow agree with me. But I won't.

Have a nice day.
 
I have been running SLI since May of 2005 and I am quite pleased with it. Now at the time, I only bought 2 ASUS 6600 GT TOP series cards. My games run beautifully and I have no bitches. I just figured that if I do sell, it is just easier to sell two more affordable cards.

As for the buy 1 card now and the other later, I usually find that by the time your ready to get that other card, they are hard to find. Now, at least it is better that you can mix and match different suppliers.

But my question is this, my board, the A8NSLI deluxe takes a pci express X16 slot and splits it into two X8 slots to enable SLI. Supposedly you can now SLI setups that get X16 from both slots. Do I need a new board for this or will it be a BIOS upgrade. Also, at what point will the current SLI setup with two X8 slots be insufficient. The 7800GTX's still work fine with one X16 split into two of X8 each.

Just wondering,


Guy
 
Guy you will need a new board for dual x16 SLI. A8N32 from Asus is the only one I know of at the moment. So no, BIOS upgrade won't fixit.
 
X16 will cure all that ails you and make you a golden god!


just like the last two upgrades did... another way to put it are there any current/upcoming titles that max the x8 bus... what is the forseeable lifespan of x8 SLI rigs considering they just started really selling with the release of the 7800.
 
x16 only seemed to make a difference in very extreme resolutions like 2048x1536 w/AA jacked WAY up if I remember correctly. Hard to see how it's going to be a "must have" any time real soon - by the time it becomes a real factor most people will have moved on to another board anyway or dumped their 7800's for something new.
 
Riptide_NVN said:
Guy you will need a new board for dual x16 SLI. A8N32 from Asus is the only one I know of at the moment. So no, BIOS upgrade won't fixit.
Click to expand...

MSI has one coming out also... and with "the wide gap" between the 16x lanes. w00t.
edit: check the goodness here
onboard SB audigy... mmmmm
 
jdracer47 said:
I was an early adopter when SLI came out and ditched my 9800XT in favor of 2 6800 GTs with an Asus AN8 SLI Deluxe. It was a nightmare out of the gate, the board had like 8 bios releases in the 1st 2 months and I finally ditched it in favor of a DFI SLI-DR.

I have now ditched the SLI setup, I came to the realization that if you don't have a huge LCD monitor or CRT it just isn't worth the money. Running at a max of 1280X1024 on a Sceptre 19" Gamer I just didn't see any real world reason for keeping the setup. I currently use an X850 XT and get better FPS than I did with the 2 6800 GTs in the main game I play--Far Cry. It kicks butt in everything else too.

To me, SLI is great for benching, never did I ever imagine breaking 20,000 in 3dMarks03, but in real live gaming it never showed the promise it did in the benchmarks. I also saw quality issues in many games, and I had to reboot the system every time I started Far Cry (I no longer have to do that with the X850 XT).

Is it ready for mainstream.....Yes it is, because ignorance is bliss for the masses. They will see "Dual Video Cards" and buy, even though they have a 17" LCD that comes with their Dell that will never take advantage of it.

And before I am labeled as an ATI !!!!!!, I am staying away from Crossfire too. I am sticking with my nForce4 board and waiting for the 512MB version of the X1800 XT. I may try a dual GPU on a single card in the future, it does seem promising.
Click to expand...
like you i went from a Sapphire 9800 Pro XT (although mine was a 9800NP modded to a Pro then a Pro XT) to a SLI setup right out of the gate. for myself i had the Gigabyte 3D1 bundle (Dual 6600GT) and within minutes of playing RTCW and Doom III i found myself looking over my shoulder at my Sapphire 9800 Pro XT.

i ditched the Gigabyte 3D1 bundle and got a Chaintech VNF4/Ultra and a Sapphire X850 XT and for sometime have had no reason to look back at the SLI path. that is until recently when the 78800GT/X surfaced as well as games like F.E.A.R.. like you i have an LCD with 1280x1024 and after picking up a DFI SLI-DR this month i'm intending on eventually going to SLI for one reason: to avoid dropping a large sum of cash into a new card each year or two when i can just buy top end now and addon a reduced price identical card later. makes sense when you look at games like F.E.A.R. that obviously make AA/AF an issue even at 1280x1024 with an X850 XT.

given the way things are going there's the likelyhood that by the time i get around to replacing both SLI cards there would be a Dual GPU card on the market that can run in SLI mode with another giving four GPU's and should that become true i'll have the funds to invest in such having saved on buying that secondary card for the 7800GT/X SLI setup at a lower cost.
 
Mister E said:
I could (and should) come in here and post a bunch of crap saying how SLI is a waste of money and that any1 who buys it is a fool. With links and copy/pastes and stock reports that somehow agree with me. But I won't.

Have a nice day.
Click to expand...

One more reason to purchase at Best Buy. You would have a couple weeks to take it back.

And on your claim, this being the Internet, I can could copy and paste you countless quotes claiming that everything in the world is crap, or the greatest thing ever made. That is why we base our opinions firmly on our experiences.
 
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